Mill rites | A new city council examines the fate of a historic mill building, and perhaps the city's as well
Anchoring the southwest corner of Lewiston is the hulking Bates Mill No. 5, as much a harbinger of the city’s future as a symbol of its industrial past.
At least that’s how the current city council sees it, says Chairman Tom Peters, who heads the municipal body that holds the future of the mill in its hands.
Mill No. 5 is the only remaining portion of the Bates Mill complex that hasn’t been rehabbed since the city and Lewiston Mill Redevelopment Corp. undertook a renovation of the complex in 1997. One by one, the cluster of buildings that formed the city’s textile hub have been demolished or recast as modern space for offices and restaurants.
Mill No. 5 is last, but by no means least. At 365,000 square feet, the building covers nearly four acres, and its distinctive saw-tooth roof — an innovation of architect Albert Kahn to direct natural light to the manufacturing floor — zig-zags across the downtown cityscape.
For more than a year, a task force of volunteers considered what to do with the mill. Public property since its owner abandoned the complex in 1993, Mill No. 5 sucks up about $400,000 per year in tax dollars just to keep it structurally sound.
The task force’s report, released in March, offered two likely possibilities: Tear the mill down and free up valuable property for redevelopment, or find a developer willing to renovate it for some modern use, such as a convention center. This summer, the city sent out a query across the country to measure interest from potential developers. Only one developer responded.
Now, the city council must decide what’s next for Mill No. 5. The lone proposal is being mulled, but Peters said the council is thinking beyond it. All elected within the past year, the councilors are energized and not bound by the limitations of any previous studies, said Peters. They initiated a 90-day moratorium on downtown development that ends in early January to give themselves some time to think. Mainebiz chatted with Peters to discuss the future of the historic Mill No. 5. An edited transcript follows.
Mainebiz: Why is Mill No. 5 important?
Tom Peters: Obviously it’s a huge building, more than 300,000 square feet of space and something like eight acres total. But more importantly, it sits at the gateway. It’s situated near the [Androscoggin] river and the falls, which presents a wonderful opportunity for us. This is the ideal place to ignite the rebirth of the downtown. This is our opportunity to set the tone. What this council wants is a renaissance for Lewiston. We want to be different than any other place in Maine. From that point of view, take a look at what we have that other communities would kill for: the canals, open space, the falls, the river. What we want to do is look at the whole area and ask, “What can we do to get others to come to Lewiston?”
Do you have any obvious answers?
What we’ve been talking about in the last month or so is an arts community. Not casinos. We can look at whole different ways to bring people into the area in a way that develops an arts community. Make it a center for music, theater, galleries… There’s the anchor-store analogy to consider, where you land one big anchor tenant and that triggers subsequent development. The trick is to find out what that anchor store might be, or maybe it’s more than one thing — an IMAX theater, a Cabela’s, an L.L.Bean or some sort of entertainment complex based on the arts. Think of places like Branson, Mo., and Orlando, where one development concept grows to define a community. Those are the kinds of ideas that could jump start a community. Instead of people saying “Let’s go to Portland to the Maine Mall,” how about if people started saying, “Let’s go to Lewiston and Auburn and enjoy what they have to offer.”
Is there something different about this city council that makes it open to a task of this size? Is it a matter of timing, or will?
The community is fortunate to have this particular council. We have people with expertise in law enforcement, law, business, accounting… all different kinds of strengths. We’re all new; we all ran for the first time [last year]. None are sure we’ll run again. So we’re committed to doing what we can for our community. We’re not concerned about sound bites or political gain. Our goal is not to be re-elected. We do have the political will to undertake this and to take the appropriate risk with taxpayer money.
And why now?
The economic downturn helps make it possible in some ways. We look at it as how to turn a negative into a positive. As land values depress, entrepreneurs don’t take risks. This is an opportunity to take dilapidated places and land-bank them and potentially make that land available as part of the [Mill No. 5] plan… Artists are not generally rich folks. If we’d like to develop an arts community, can we take some of the property and redevelop it as artists’ lofts, or studios? The key is to make this a vibrant community and attract between 20,000 and 30,000 people to come here. Once we get that energy, things will happen.
We see such potential. Can we purchase the canals from FP&L [Florida Power & Light]? Can we kayak on the Androscoggin? Could we potentially close the canals and skate on them? What if we develop green space that abuts the canals? People could sit at a deli or café, enjoy the view and sip a glass of wine before a play. It can happen here. There’s no reason it can’t.
How is what you’re doing different from the work of the task force, or of previous groups such as L/A Excels and their efforts to kick start community revitalization in the late ’90s through a collaborative process?
The task force was looking at what to do with a building. They did an exceptionally thorough job, but the scope of the task was limited. L/A Excels looked at other things, but no one has seen the whole elephant. This council will take the blindfolds off. What did the other guys show us? We’re going to pull it all together. First we get the vision, then we decide what to do with Bates Mill No. 5.
So what’s the next step?
We’re gathering our thoughts and then we go to a public hearing and discussion. This council doesn’t like consultants or studies. We have a very talented city staff. There are a lot of other people with expertise that might volunteer their time from places like Bates College and the University of Maine, who might not necessarily need to be paid… We’ll put together a package as to what we want to do and I’ll suggest we go to places like foundations and show them our vision and our excitement and ask them to participate. If we reach out to the greater community, who knows what partnerships there’ll be. A Bates grad who is head of a company might be willing to work here… let’s make a pitch. The LAEGC [Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council], the chamber, all of them should be involved. We could meet with local banks and credit unions and ask them to put together a consortium, invite them to work as a team, to finance a project of $20 or $30 million. How about if we work together and keep it local?
Have you been getting any negative pushback from your ideas? Any comments about Don Quixote tilting at windmills?
No, not really. We had a meeting with the banks [about the consortium idea] and no one looked at me and said they thought I was nuts. I think people are impressed that we have the will to take this on. I think they’re willing to hear us out and see what happens.
Do you have a timeframe?
My term expires in one year and few months, as does others’. If we aim to establish the vision and settle on it and know where we’re going, I will be very happy. The next council will buy into this and the staff steps in and carries on the work with the next council. Due process is needed, but we don’t have to committee it to death. It shouldn’t take years to figure out what we want. The moratorium pushes us, as well. We’ll have to work a little harder to get it done by then [Jan. 7], but we can do it. Our hope is to have a sketch of the vision by then. …Specifically about Bates Mill No. 5, will we mothball it? Knock it down? No one’s made a decision as yet. Some people look at that building and say it’s butt ugly. Others say it’s a beautiful piece of architecture… A decision now, we hope, is one that people will look back on and say, “It was a good vision and a good decision that they made.” That’s what I’m hoping.
Carol Coultas, Mainebiz editor, can be reached at ccoultas@mainebiz.biz.
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